"Is… is it over?" Erina Nakiri whispered, her voice trembling. Beside her, Hisako Arato stood equally frozen, their eyes locked on the carnage. The battle—from the millipede's eruption to its obliteration—had lasted less than thirty seconds. A creature stretching hundreds of meters, its blade-like legs capable of shredding stone, now lay in smoldering chunks. And Zed, a man barely two meters tall, stood unscathed.
"Capture Level 35 isn't much," Zed said, brushing debris from his jacket. "Just a glorified pest."
As he spoke, he tossed a seed into the soil. A drop of emerald liquid triggered its growth: a Purification Flower bloomed, its petals stark white against the ravaged earth. The air filled with a sweet, cleansing fragrance.
"This'll neutralize the toxins," Zed explained. "In a month, the forest will recover."
Erina crouched, marveling at the flower. "Regeneration Masters can… create life like this?"
"Cultivate, not create." Zed snapped a photo of the duo. "You'll need IDs. This world's tech is picky about paperwork."
Days later, they arrived at the Healing Country, its gates guarded by swarms of bioluminescent butterflies. Erina gasped as azure and crimson wings fluttered around them.
"Healing Butterflies," Zed said. "Blue marks minor injuries. Red signals life-threatening ones." The insects alighted on Erina's shoulder—a faint bruise from their journey—and Hisako's scraped knee, their glow soft and reassuring.
"No red ones. Good."
Beyond the gates, the trio navigated bustling streets lined with clinics and herb gardens. Zed sighed, eyeing the horizon. "Wish I had a Camping Monster. Traveling's a chore without one."
"Camping… Monster?" Hisako echoed.
"Living transports. Some have entire labs or kitchens inside their bodies. Rare, though. Taming one takes years."
Erina's God Tongue tingled—a sensory overload from the city's medicinal aromas. "This place… it's like a hospital fused with a jungle."
"Regeneration's core is harmony between life and environment." Zed led them toward a towering Mother Tree, its branches cradling bioluminescent pods. "Welcome to the Healing Country. Don't touch anything that glows."